Adrian Crowley: The Watchful Eye Of The Stars

One stormy night in Ireland, Adrian Crowley's brother brought home a wounded crow. After taking care of it for a time, the crow flew away on it's own, leaving an impression behind: Crowley wrote a story, which would later become the aptly titled "Crow Song" on this, his brand new record and ninth studio album The Watchful Eye Of The Stars. Suffused with a hazy and surreal quality, Crowley describes Watchful Eye's poignant narratives as those which insisted themselves upon him. After the fact, it seemed these songs came to him more or less fully formed. "It's a beautiful and mysterious thing," he says. Perhaps it is a tendency to hold onto memories that allows him to unleash them lyrically in completion. For Crowley, the creative process is an organic event rather than a practice he feels compelled to regulate or control. He approaches lyrics much like he does short story writing. In making the album, Crowley moved between studio and at home recording, while John Parish (Aldous Harding, PJ Harvey) produced. The pair worked from tracks made initially by Crowley on a charity shop 3/4 size nylon string guitar or Mellotron: "In this way, John wanted to keep some of the magic of that first take", says Crowley. Contradictions and complexities are left intact, initial recordings were limited to one or two takes, and the songs feel more like a dream recounted upon waking. These raw beginnings were then fleshed out more in the studio with Parish and additional musicians. Jim Barr of Portishead contributed double bass and was brought in to engineer parts of Watchful Eye in Bristol. Parish himself contributed instrumentation as well, his signature sense of drama lending Crowley's work a new edge overall without disrupting it's minimalism. Having members of Crash Ensemble in Dublin to record for only a few days' time, Crowley recalls staying up all night to write string parts for "Northbound Stowaway," which was recorded the following morning. Final track "Take Me Driving" opens with an arpeggiation, then unfolds into a swaying, melancholy outro. It highlights Crowley's skill at transforming a quiet, repeated phrase into something magnificent, mysterious, and wholly captivating-a story. Crowley leaves the listener here in his world, driving in a car with a flighty companion, unsure of where they're going, but continuing nonetheless as he steps out the passenger side.

1. Northbound Stowaway
2. I Still See You Among Strangers
3. Underwater Song
4. Bread and Wine
5. A Shut-In's Lament
6. The Colours of the Night
7. The Singalong
8. Ships on the Water
9. Crow Song
10. Take Me Driving

Shipping is available to the 48 contiguous United States. We are unable to ship to PO Boxes, International locations, or APO/FPO addresses. 

Please ensure your address is entered correctly. We are unable to redirect to an alternate shipping address once an order is placed.If your order contains multiple items, it may ship from different warehouse locations.

Tracking information will be sent as items are shipped.

Allow up to 5 business days for your order to process when calculating delivery dates. 

Note: Additional delays may occur due to severe weather or other carrier delays. 

Standard Shipping: allow 7-10 business days for delivery. Albums will be shipped via USPS Media Mail; all other products via UPS Ground or FedEx Ground.

Expedited Shipping: allow 2-5 business days for delivery. Albums will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail; all other products via UPS 2-Day Air or FedEx 2-Day Air.

Overnight Shipping: allow 1-2 business days for delivery. All products will be shipped via UPS Next Day Air or FedEx Next Day Air. 

We offer a 30-day money back guarantee on all products purchased from Victrola.com. All items must be returned as new in their original packaging, including all accessories and cables. Albums must be unopened to receive a refund. Missing items will be charged based on suggested retail prices.

All returns must be accompanied by a valid return authorization number (RMA) issued by Victrola. If an RMA is not obtained prior to shipping, the returned product will be refused and returned to sender.

If the item is no longer wanted, the shipping cost is not refundable and returns must be shipped prepaid by the customer. There is a 15% restocking fee that will be calculated based on the price of the product once the item is refunded.

If the item is defective, a pre-paid shipping label to return the product will be provided, and no restocking fee applies.

To set up a return for refund please visit Customer Care. Be sure to include your order # and reason for your return when submitting your request.

View more information about returns and warranty here.